The Dublin Racing Festival is likely to get under way on yielding ground at Leopardstown, with the possibility of rain before the second day on Sunday.
There has been much talk in the lead up to the meeting regarding the going at the track, with concerns expressed by many over conditions regarded as quicker than ideal.
However, despite an incredibly dry month, clerk of the course Lorcan Wyer has ensured the ground has some give.
🗣️ Lorcan Wyer
— IHRB (@ihrb_ie) February 3, 2022
📍@LeopardstownRC
🌱 Ground update ahead of the Dublin Racing Festival
🌦️ Weather forecast
🏇🏽 Rail alignment
💦 Details of watering
📺 Live on @RacingTV @itvracing & @RTEracing
👨🏽💻 Declarations for Day 1 close at 10am with @HRI_RAS
🏆 7 Grade 1 races pic.twitter.com/yTn6gmuQoJ
"The going is yielding on both tracks and the fence positions are the same as they were for Christmas," Wyer said in a video posted on Twitter.
"The rail alignment on the chase track is a slighter wider line which is reflected in the advertised distances, it’s a slightly longer chase track.
"We’ll have fresh ground on the hurdles track for day two.
"The forecast is for the possibility of three millimetres of rain tonight, dry Friday with the possibility of another 5mm of rain in the early hours of Sunday morning – it looks quite a wet start on Sunday.
"We are watering, that’s ongoing. January has been such a dry month. We’ve had 3-4mm of rain in January, so we’ve been watering since 10 January and doing it three days a week since then which has left us with yielding ground ahead of the weekend."
Watch live coverage of the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player on Saturday (12.55pm) and Sunday (1.10pm).